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Shooting at Washington Navy Yard raises questions on security at U.S. military bases

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At least 13 people died and several others were wounded after a shooter opened fire Monday at the Navy Yard complex in Washington. The incident represents the single worst loss of life in the District of Columbia since a 1982 airliner crash that killed 78. Here, a police officer runs along M Street near Sixth Street.
(Astrid Riecken, Washington Post)

Would the employees be willing to submit themselves to airport-style security checks? Multiple times? Would they be willing to have their car visibly searched or even partially dismantled without probable cause? Regardless of what measures are taken, they will also not necessarily deter 100 percent of such attackers. Those who commit acts of violence are unfortunately only bound by their resourcefulness. It becomes the unpleasant job of those who protect us against such violence to balance our security against a reasonable expectation of what can and cannot be prevented.

Chris Grollnek, founder of Countermeasure Consulting Group, said some installations have made more progress on security than others. The Texas-based group has trained private contractors who staff post entries. "It's not a one-size-fits-all," Grollnek said.
Grollnek said the Army has been proactive in training personnel to deal with on-base shootings. But, he said, trying to prevent incidents before they take place can be tricky because it's usually impossible to identify suspects in advance. "They're black, they're white, they're men, they're women -- no one knows what the profile is," he said.

At military posts like the sprawling Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, for instance, virtually anyone with one of the Common Access Cards (CAC) issued to troops, civilian Defense Department employees, and government contractors can enter the facility without being patted down or made to go through a metal detector. Aaron Alexis, the primary suspect in the Navy Yard shootings, was a Navy information technology contractor, but it's not yet clear whether he had a CAC card of his own or made his way onto the Navy Yard by stealing one from a colleague. Figuring out how Alexis managed to enter the compound with at least one semiautomatic weapon is a top priority for the FBI agents leading the investigation into the shootings.

The improvements in security since the terrorist attacks in 2001 were drawn up mainly to guard against terrorist sleeper cells, reports the Washington Post, although military personnel or people employed in the defense industry likely pose a more serious threat:

On Monday, with many key questions about the latest attack unanswered, lawmakers and defense officials vowed to move swiftly to determine whether new safeguards are needed. Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.), who called for enhanced training for first responders after the shootings at Fort Hood, which is in his district, said there is no foolproof way of keeping military facilities safe from lone gunmen. "Unfortunately, we don't live in the sweet world of the 1950s," he said. "There are a lot of bad people doing a lot of bad things."

More broadly, in two dozen probes over previous years, Atkinson's firm found major security lapses throughout the facility, among them doors jammed open with pieces of cardboard, "crisscrossed" video cameras pointed at one another, too few cameras and bad lighting at night. "The security there is extraordinarily poor," Atkinson said. "They need more cameras, better door security, better lighting. The access controls were appalling. The Washington Navy Yard has security that is below the level of security you see at Harvard or MIT (the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) or Boston University or any other major campus."

"Given the disturbing events of today, I am highly concerned that the access control systems at our nation's military installations have serious security flaws," wrote Turner, whose district includes Wright Patterson Air Force base. "It is my understanding the IG report indicates the Navy may have implemented an unproven system in order to cut costs. I also learned that potentially numerous felons may have been able to gain unrestricted access to several military installations around the country, due to insufficient background checks, increasing the risk to our military personnel and civilian employees."

Life does go on, through Columbine in 1999, through Virginia Tech in 2007, through Sandy Hook in 2012. Each atrocity provides a jolt to the nation and then recedes with little effect, until the next unimaginable event occurs, except each time a little more imaginable. Everything was supposed to change after a man with a semiautomatic weapon mowed down 20 elementary school children in their classrooms last December. But for the politicians, nothing changed. Now, another massacre, another roster of funerals. Again, again, again.

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